TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Trade
The Chicago Fire acquired defender Nicolas Hasler from Toronto FC in a trade on Friday, in exchange for midfielder Jon Bakero and $50,000 in General Allocation Money.
The news, first reported by The Athletic's Paul Tenorio, offers a boost for both teams as they look to climb the Eastern Conference standings over the coming months.
Hasler, 27, is in his second season in MLS. Joining Toronto FC a year ago, he helped them win the league's first domestic treble, as well as in their run to the Concacaf Champions League final this spring. The Liechtenstein international, who mostly plays as a wing back or full back but is also capable of playing wide midfield, has three goals and four assists in 24 career MLS regular season games.
Bakero, 21, is in his rookie season as a professional. The Spanish native, son of former FC Barcelona legend Jose Mari Bakero, was drafted by the Fire at No. 5 overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. But the Wake Forest product had struggled to get regular minutes in Veljko Paunovic's rotation, going on loan to USL side Tulsa Roughnecks and dealing with an injury, limiting him to just 75 minutes played across four games this season in MLS regular season action.
